1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cup-like package of plastic for substantially flowable or pourable products, having a one-piece receptacle, the top filling and removal opening of which is sealed by a peel-off cover film.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Cup packs of plastic for foodstuffs such as dairy products of all types, pudding, baby food and the like are produced on a large scale and successfully sold. The reason for this is that plastics generally have an exceptionally good mechanical resistance, which facilitates the transportation and storage of the packaged products concerned. In addition, most plastics have an outstanding barrier effect against water and water vapor, as a result of which any drying-out of the packaged contents or their contamination from outside is effectively prevented. To be regarded as a further reason is that plastic can be readily given a visually appealing appearance by molding and coloring, the intention being that in this way the producers can, as they wish, appeal in a particularly attractive way to the aesthetic sensitivity of consumers and give the impression of high quality.
Usually, the cup packs, which are sealed with printed cover films, can be readily opened by using two fingers on a flange which either protrudes to the side or is hinged to the edge of the cup to peel off the cover film to the rear, thereby exposing the removal opening of the cup.
The production process of the filled cup packs provides that, first of all, the receptacle is filled with the product, after which the sheet for the cover film is laid in place and joined to the receptacle by a continuous sealing seam. All the process steps are usually carried out automatically on packaging machines. Therefore, it has been found to be particularly expedient to produce the cover as a metal foil or at least from a laminate containing metal foil, because this material can be embossed with a suitable surface finish in such a way that no operational disruptions are caused on the automatic packaging machines due to cover sheets sticking together. However, metal foils have disadvantages in that they are a very energy-intensive packaging material, have a low puncture resistance during transportation (shopping carts) and because, owing to the disposal necessary on account of the intended purpose of the packages, it is endeavored to provide homogeneous packages, that is, packages of homogeneous material.